Leaf spring systems have for many years been used for the suspension of wheeled vehicles. The central element of a leaf spring suspension system for a vehicle is termed a “semi-elliptical” spring configured as an arc-shaped length of spring steel having a substantially rectangular cross-section. At the center of the arc is provided an arrangement for coupling to the axle of the vehicle. At the ends are provided coupler holes for attaching the spring to the vehicle body. For heavy vehicles, leaf springs are stacked on one another to form layers of springs of different lengths. Leaf springs are still used in heavy commercial vehicles and railway carriages. In the case of very heavy vehicles, leaf springs provide the advantage of spreading the load over a larger region of the vehicle's chassis. A coil spring, on the other hand, will transfer the load to a single point.
One effort to address the problems associated with other suspension systems employs a parallel leaf spring arrangement to provide a second stage spring rate of the system. Additionally, many assemblies have multiple spring plates that make up one or both of the stages. In today's marketplace, many vehicle manufacturers desire weight reduction to assist in fuel efficiency efforts. Unfortunately, the additional spring stage and multiple plates associated with one or both stages add weight to the overall assembly, and therefore the vehicle.